It’s an example of why monopolies are harmful. They create distorted economies that don’t serve consumers. Like ecosystems overcome by a monoculture, monopolies are inherently less resilient, less functional and prone to sudden disruption.
If there were multiple sources of traffic, the pressure to optimize to one source would be lower, and the disruption caused by algorithm changes would be muted. Which would mean more interesting content less driven by a narrow set of metrics
That’s the rationale Google uses. “We’re the best, that’s why users pick us.” They built a moat of investment in search and the browser that other companies can’t compete with. But as a consumer, I am not willing to accept that argument. Ma Bell claimed the same thing. We’re a lot better off economically in a world where Ma Bell was broken up, and Microsoft was forced to stop their anticompetitive activities. Google will be better off as separate companies, worth more than the sum of its parts
I recently read The Parable of the Sower and it really affected me, both because I felt empathy for the characters and because I saw some uncomfortable parallels in the recent history of our world. I also was disturbed by The Sparrow. Though frankly I wouldn’t recommend it for a lot of reasons. Battle Royale is intensely violent, in a really personal way. For graphic novels, From Hell is a really rough read honestly, but also really interesting
Two men have been charged with cutting down the popular 150-year-old Sycamore Gap tree next to Hadrian’s Wall last year in northern England, prosecutors said Tuesday....
Home Assistant is now part of the Open Home Foundation, a non-profit aiming to fight against surveillance capitalism and offer privacy, choice, and sustainability....
In Arizona the norm seemed to be to pass fast on the right and go slow on the left. Even on a three lane road, with me going slightly above the speed limit in the middle, idiots would choose to pass on the right rather than use the open left lane. Definitely the worst part about the state in terms of daily experience
There are a lot of aspects of the world that are wonderful, can’t yet be explained, and maybe don’t even need explanation to be worshiped and enjoyed. Religion is just a means to make sense of these parts of our cosmos (I myself am a complete atheist, but have friends whose lives have been definitely enriched by finding religion). The problems arise when manipulative people codify these beliefs into regimented systems of control. That creates an incentive to coerce others to follow the same beliefs. That in turn leads to religions beginning to be shaped by a kind of memetic survival of the fittest. Some religions try to short-cut the hard work of having actually good ideas that improve people’s lives, by instead coercing people into beliefs that maximize birth rate and reduce individual thought.
On Monday, it appears X attempted to encourage users to cease referring to it as Twitter and instead adopt the name X. Some https://twitter.com/t3dotgg/status/1777425000133468582 began https://twitter.com/___frye/status/1777432913497465082 that posts https://twitter.com/__justplaying/status/1777433986500853845 via X for iOS were...
I have stopped using it to read news. I still use it to keep touch with my professional community (scientists who haven’t moved to Bluesky or Mastodon), but that’s it. I wish it would just die. Until then I’ve scripted it and blocked lots of elements to make it look exactly like old Twitter
It's Over for Fossil Smartwatches (www.droid-life.com)
Google Kneecaps Loads Of Very Big Websites After SEO Change (aftermath.site)
Which are the most fucked up books you've read?
2 men are charged with cutting down famous 150-year-old tree near Hadrian's Wall in England (apnews.com)
Two men have been charged with cutting down the popular 150-year-old Sycamore Gap tree next to Hadrian’s Wall last year in northern England, prosecutors said Tuesday....
Kremlin Disputes Report Putin Didn’t Order Navalny’s Death (www.thedailybeast.com)
If it works, kill it. (lemmy.world)
Rule of Google: if it works, kill it....
Your barren urban sprawl: Tolkien's modern Mordor in the making. (lemmy.world)
The little smart home platform that could (www.theverge.com)
Home Assistant is now part of the Open Home Foundation, a non-profit aiming to fight against surveillance capitalism and offer privacy, choice, and sustainability....
UAW secures historic union election win at Tennessee Volkswagen plant (www.theguardian.com)
Breaking the law for real (lemmy.world)
Smart locks from Chirp systems found to store app credentials in plain text (krebsonsecurity.com)
Goofy is sued for negligence, inflicting trauma, in Disneyland collision (www.latimes.com)
Android 15 will let you set a default wallet app (www.androidheadlines.com)
Arizona State Senator Leads Prayer In Tongues On Floor Before Abortion Ruling (www.huffpost.com)
X automatically changed 'Twitter' to 'X' in domain names, breaking legit URLs (mashable.com)
On Monday, it appears X attempted to encourage users to cease referring to it as Twitter and instead adopt the name X. Some https://twitter.com/t3dotgg/status/1777425000133468582 began https://twitter.com/___frye/status/1777432913497465082 that posts https://twitter.com/__justplaying/status/1777433986500853845 via X for iOS were...
The French aristocrat who understood evolution 100 years before Darwin – and even worried about climate change (www.theguardian.com)
Big Tech passkey implementations are a trap | Proton (proton.me)
Big Tech has implemented passkeys in a way that locks users into their platforms rather than providing universal security...
Chechnya bans all music deemed too fast or too slow (edition.cnn.com)
Authorities in the Russian Republic of Chechnya have announced a ban on music that they consider too fast or slow.